Mapping California

Mapping California

California is a unique place that has not always been well understood. For hundreds of years there persisted a European misconception that California was an island and many maps were made depicting it as such. Eventually, by the 18th century, enough information about California reached the outside world to dispel that myth. As California became increasingly populated, comprehensive surveying and mapping of its territory seemingly expanded slowly.

When gold was discovered in 1848 and it joined the United States as the thirty first state in 1851 interest in ploting California's landscapes boomed.

California quickly became a well documented piece of the United States. Time has brought even more mapping; with modern technology, particularly GIS any aspect of California can be and is recorded on a map. Not only are physical maps of California readily available, but maps with all variety of demographic information are as well.